Positioning Request in Paging Messages of Wireless Communication Systems

1. A method, comprising: generating a paging message for a wireless communication device, the paging message including a positioning request, wherein the positioning request comprises (i) a first bit field defined to indicate a capability request for inquiring about one or more physical layer positioning methods supported by the wireless communication device, and (ii) a second bit field defined to indicate a location information request for retrieving a location estimate or location measurement data from the wireless communication device; transmitting the paging message to the wireless communication device; and receiving, during a connection establishment process, a connection message from the wireless communication device, the connection message including a positioning response that is responsive to the positioning request.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the paging message is a paging message for informing the wireless communication device about an arrival of data for the wireless communication device, and wherein receiving the connection message comprises receiving the positioning response in a connection setup complete message.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the paging message comprises indicating the capability request for inquiring about one or more physical layer positioning methods supported by the wireless communication device, and wherein the positioning response indicates one or more supported physical layer positioning methods.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the paging message comprises indicating the location information request, wherein the positioning response includes location data associated with the wireless communication device, and wherein the location data comprises either a location estimate or measurement data.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein: the location information request indicates a physical layer positioning method; and the location data being obtained by the wireless communication device is responsive to the indicated physical layer positioning method.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein: the paging message is of a first paging message type that is different from a second paging message type in at least one of timeslot or message format; the first paging message type is a positioning request paging message type; and receiving the connection message comprises receiving the positioning response in a connection setup complete message.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein transmitting the paging message comprises transmitting a transaction identifier that includes (i) an identity of an initiator of the positioning request and (ii) a transaction number.

8. A wireless communication device, comprising: transceiver electronics to transmit and receive wireless signals; and processor electronics in communication with the transceiver electronics, the processor electronics being configured to (i) receive a paging message, the paging message including a positioning request wherein the positioning request comprises a first bit field defined to indicate a capability request for inquiring about one or more physical layer positioning methods supported by the wireless communication device, and a second bit field defined to indicate a location information request for retrieving a location estimate or location measurement data from the wireless communication device, (ii) process the positioning request to generate a positioning response that is responsive, at least, to the first bit field and the second bit field, and (iii) transmit, during a connection establishment process, a connection message, the connection message including the positioning response.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 8 , wherein the paging message is a paging message for informing the wireless communication device about an arrival of data for the wireless communication device, and wherein the connection message is a connection setup complete message.

10. The wireless communication device of claim 8 , wherein the positioning request a indicates the capability request for inquiring about one or more physical layer positioning methods supported by the wireless communication device, and wherein the positioning response indicates one or more supported physical layer positioning methods.

11. The wireless communication device of claim 8 , wherein the positioning request indicates the location information request, wherein the positioning response includes location data associated with the wireless communication device, and wherein the location data comprises either a location estimate or measurement data.

12. The wireless communication device of claim 11 , wherein: the location information request indicates a physical layer positioning method; and the location data being obtained by the wireless communication device is responsive to the indicated physical layer positioning method.

13. The wireless communication device of claim 8 , wherein: the paging message is of a first paging message type that is different from a second paging message type in at least one of timeslot or message format; and the first paging message type is a positioning request paging message type.

14. A system, comprising: two or more base stations to communicate with wireless communication devices, the base stations configured to (i) generate a paging message for a wireless communication device, the paging message including a positioning request, wherein the positioning request comprises a first bit field defined to indicate a capability request for inquiring about one or more physical layer positioning methods supported by the wireless communication device, and a second bit field defined to indicate a location information request for retrieving a location estimate or location measurement data from the wireless communication device, (ii) transmit the paging message to the wireless communication device, and (iii) receive, during a connection establishment process, a connection message from the wireless communication device, the connection message including a positioning response that is responsive to the positioning request.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the paging message is a paging message for informing the wireless communication device about an arrival of data for the wireless communication device, and wherein receiving the connection message comprises receiving the positioning response in a connection setup complete message.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the positioning request indicates the capability request for inquiring about one or more physical layer positioning methods supported by the wireless communication device, and wherein the positioning response indicates one or more supported physical layer positioning methods.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the positioning request indicates the location information request, wherein the positioning response includes location data associated with the wireless communication device, and wherein the location data comprises either a location estimate or measurement data.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein: the location information request indicates a physical layer positioning method; and the location data being obtained by the wireless communication device is responsive to the indicated physical layer positioning method.

19. The system of claim 14 , wherein: the paging message is of a first paging message type that is different from a second paging message type in at least one of timeslot or message format; the first paging message type is a positioning request paging message type; and receiving the connection message comprises receiving the positioning response in a connection setup complete message.

20. The system of claim 14 , wherein transmitting the paging message comprises transmitting a transaction identifier that includes (i) an identity of an initiator of the positioning request and (ii) a transaction number.